White Collar
by TakeOnePill
Summary: With the missing mammals case solved and swept under the rug, Judy Hopps and Nicholas Wilde have returned to normal police duties. But something is brewing on the horizon - something that no one in Zootopia could prepare for or even expect. Can Judy and Nick hope to handle this monster lurking in the shadows while also trying to figure out where their relationship stands?
1. Suspicion

"Listen up! New assignments!"

New assignments! Judy couldn't help but grin and hop in her seat. Nick, who was sat beside her, could only smirk and roll his eyes.

Chief Bogo, as always, was on his podium in the briefing room. He continued shortly. "With the missing persons case solved and everything relatively quiet, we can focus our attention on the little things, such as home burglary, peace disturbance reports, stolen vehicles, shifty characters seen waltzing about, and general paperwork."

"Home burglary is considered 'small time'? I wonder what's normal for you guys," Nick piped up with a snide remark, as always. The Chief snorted at him.

"What isn't normal is for an officer to have _zero_ completed reports to their name."

Was that a dis? Nick chuckled internally. It was of similar calibre to a dad joke.

"Right. Wilde and Hopps, you're covering the Five Dollar Central Bank. Fangmeyer, Wolford - Fishtown Market in Tundratown. Francine, McHorn - Rainforest District immigration centre. Survey and report. Anything major happens you call in backup. Remember, these are areas designated only for patrol - you get a call from dispatch asking for your assistance, you assist."

"Sir? Chief Bogo?"

With a sigh, the Chief gestured for Hopps to continue. "What about Sahara Square? The gold depository is in the heart of the district, right? Why aren't we patrolling the surrounding area?"

"Because, Hopps, the place where they've hidden the gold has its own trained response team. Two officers from the ZPD would make not a hair of difference." Judy did not like the vague answer, but decided to let it go. The Chief continued. "Now, I need to make this perfectly clear to all of you - do _not_ interfere with the employees of whatever establishment you're assigned to on the off chance you spook a mastermind criminal. Does everyone understand?"

A collective 'yes, sir,' shook the room. The Chief straightened and betrayed a smile.

"Good. That's all for now. Begin duty."

Some shuffling and squeaky chairs later, the room was empty. It was a bit of a surprise to the Chief when Judy didn't run up to him with a hundred questions about the task at hand. Maybe, Bogo thought, that her love for the force was waning.

 _Far from it_ , he thought to himself.

Outside the ZPD, Nick and Judy had boarded their police cruiser. The fox had brought along some chips with him, too, from one of the vending machines Clawhauser insisted they had installed. Hopps slid the key into the ignition and fired up the engine, revving a few times before crawling away from the allocated parking space.

"Do you feel like it's going to be exciting today?" Nick perked up, munching on the chips. Judy always hated when he ate with his mouth open, but often ignored it.

She didn't tear her eyes off the road. "Nick, it doesn't matter if it's exciting or boring. Our job is to protect the people, no matter what. Unless we're dead, of course," she chuckled at herself.

"I know, I know - just voicing my thoughts... wouldn't mind something that isn't just... park the car and wait for something to happen."

"Don't you think we've had enough adventure for a while? My week has been going fantastic - meaning no giant conspiracy to take over the universe or something like that. I'd like that week to extend into a year," Judy sighed through her nose as she made a sharp turn, flicking the indicator stalk.

"Guess you have a point," Nick shrugged. Internally, he wished for something exciting to happen. He though that joining the police force was going to be a big package of action.

Nick couldn't help but wonder what Finnick was up to now... probably still hustling for meagre dollars in an alleyway.

To think Nick was a crook only more than a month ago. He snickered at the mere thought. Judy gave him a sideways glance.

Did he choke on those chips?

The police cruiser stopped at a red light, the Five Dollar Central Bank just in sight. Judy glanced at the dashboard clock, which indicated 7:15 AM. They had a long day ahead of them, but Judy loved long days. The sun above wasn't glaring at them as yesterday, so it would be bearable, even for Nick.

Passing the intersection, the cruiser slowly ground to a halt in front of the bank on a designated parking area. She killed the engine and peered at the building. It was sort of impressive with the thick marble supports and glistening white walls.

There weren't that many customers around, though. Was it a new bank? Judy did see something in the papers about a new bank being opened up for business a good week ago.

"What? It's a bank, Carrots," Nick pointed out with a confused gesture. With the way her eyes were squinted, it's like she was looking through the walls. "You won't spot someone breaking into the vault from here."

"I know that. Hmm..." Judy rubbed her chin in thought. She hadn't been assigned on a task like this before. Should she patrol with the cruiser? Get inside and ask employees of suspicious activity? No, Chief Bogo ordered not to interfere.

Nick was all too much familiar with that face. He _knew_ Judy was thinking of leaving the car. "Hey, how about we just sit here and wait for something to happen? It's better than wasting energy and actually _instigate_ something," Nick suggested. It was a good suggestion, but the active rabbit didn't want to just sit and do nothing.

"Alright, but only for a few minutes! Then we take a walk around the bank," Judy struck a deal with stern eyes. She knew Nick hadn't gotten enough sleep, judging from the purple under his eyes.

"Fine by me," Nick shrugged, finishing off his pack of chips. Internally, he was grateful for a few minutes of peace.

Oh, how rude of him. He forgot to share his chips. He turned his head to Judy and smiled apologetically. "I doubt rabbits like potato chips."

Judy turned to him, too, surprised by his toothy smile. "It's _preference,_ Nick. Not a race thing. They're too salty for my _individual taste_ ," Judy huffed. He was at it with the race things again.

"More for me later on," Nick grinned. Judy groaned and looked the other way.

Minutes passed in silence. Many onlookers stared at the cruiser before wandering off. Judy quickly found out that police weren't revered for anything. Not a single wave from anyone - not a single smile. Even the children weren't as friendly as expected. Didn't she, like, save the city or something?

Judy took out a bottle of water from a cup holder near the dashboard and took a few gulps. Unsurprisingly, Nick had fallen asleep with his mouth agape, snoring. She reset the bottle and glanced out the window again.

Judy wouldn't have noticed anything if it weren't for the ears.

From afar, it seemed like a regular citizen - regular meaning they wore a featureless grey shirt and khaki shorts. It was a male, judging by posture, walk cycle and body shape. But the ears... the huge ears.

It was a rabbit.

He was huge.

The rabbit was standing at around six feet plus, outmatching even some predators walking by. For sakes, he looked like a predator himself. Sure, he was given some glances as he passed by, but no one else was glued to him like Judy.

She was _jealous!_ Furious, even! She wasn't one to act like a spoiled child, but _this?_ This was...

Considering that the chances of a rabbit being this big was one in a billion, she sighed and calmed herself down. It was just _one_ rabbit, that's all. Only one.

The large rabbit entered the bank without even sparing a glance towards the police cruiser sat right in front. The tinted glass and the sun's glare made it hard to see inside the bank, so Judy lost track of him pretty fast.

Well, that was that. An involuntary sigh escaped her mouth as she slouched back in her seat. Judy wasn't one to fuss over her size compared to other animals, but this...

She decided to let it go and find inner peace. This was a reminder that not everyone was the same.

Nick's pager that was strapped to his belt beeped and buzzed. This was new. Dispatch wouldn't usually call officers directly. They'd call on the cruiser radio, and if there was no answer, _then_ they'd call the individual officer.

"Nick, wake up! Nick!" Judy nudged him awake - well, more than nudged; she almost punched him.

He snored awake, eyes wide, mouth even more agape. "What - what?" Judy pointed at the blinking pager. "What's this?" Nick quickly answered the pager. He didn't see the caller's name on the screen. He wiped some drool off his mouth before talking. "Uh, hello?"

 _"Officer Nick, this is dispatch. Report in."_

Nick and Judy exchanged glances. That wasn't Clawhauser. A much more professional sounding guy was on the other end - not that Clawhauser wasn't professional in any way.

"Er, everything's fine? We're parked at the bank, just like we're supposed to be. No sign of suspicious activity," Nick's confusion quickly turned into correct etiquette.

 _"Mhm, yep... let me check in on that."_

A few seconds pass. Nick was dumbfounded.

 _"Alright, everything seems clear. Sorry about that. You know how it is. Out."_

And end of call.

"Okay, well, that was... new?" the fox chuckled and reattached his issued pager. "Should we ask Clawhauser or Chief Bogo about this? I don't like getting calls from people I don't know," Nick threw Judy one of his signature smirks and slowly melted back into the cushy seat.

Judy was reluctant. "They probably hired someone new to check up on officers and take calls. I mean, Clawhauser is more than capable of doing his job, but he's only one cheetah."

"Maybe it's best if we mention this to the Chief? Imagine if someone's hacking into our comms and gathering info for a grand master plan?" Nick suggested, seriousness etching his every facial feature.

They eyed each other for a split second before breaking into a fit of chuckling. Yeah, no way that was going to happen.

That was eventful.

Or rather not eventful at all.

Judy returned to her rented room, tired and disappointed. She locked her door and began to undress and slip into some comfortable boxers and a vest, both white. She could use a shower, but was too tired for that. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week.

Eugh, not in a week.

Just as she was about to lay in bed, her phone buzzed.

Parents.

With a groan, Judy sat herself on the chair and strained a smile with wide eyes at the still picture of her parents before answering. Only her mother was seen on the video feed.

"Heeey! Mom!"

 _"Judy! Oh gosh, how are you? I thought you were going to come back here after figuring out what was happening with those flowers you talked about. Er, Nighthollers, was it? Looks like you decided to stay in Zootopia after all. A shame, really. But we can't take decisions for you anymore, right? You're all grown up!"_

Judy showed a sincere smile. "Yes, you're right, mom. I'm a big girl now," Judy couldn't help but giggle at that. "Don't worry, I'll come visit whenever I can! Oh, and I'm fine, too. Nick's got by back! Where's dad, by the way?"

 _"Oh, Stu's out back, fixing the fence since one of the kids broke it. He didn't know I was calling you because it's so late. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you're doing okay. The house is a lot emptier without you, you know?"_ Bonnie chuckled. Judy couldn't help but imitate.

"Oh, speaking of little rabbits, you wouldn't guess who I saw today," Judy grinned, quite excited to tell her mom about the giant rabbit of a monster she saw!

 _"You're right, I wouldn't be able to! So tell me, who did you see today?"_

"Okay, soooo - me and Nick were parked near a bank, and who do I see? A rabbit!"

 _"A rabbit?"_ Bonnie did not seem surprised or very impressed.

"Not just any rabbit," Judy continued before her mom could butt in. "He was _tall,_ mom. Like, predator size, at least six feet!"

 _"Are you sure it was a rabbit honey? You could've mistaken him for a wolf or something else. Bunnies like us aren't usually six feet tall,"_ Bonnie smiled sincerely, but Judy knew what she saw. _"Anyway, it was nice talking to you, dear. Sorry for ringing you at such a time. You take care now, you hear? Don't get yourself into trouble."_

She _knew_ she should've recorded him! Gosh darn it!

Judy screamed internally.

"I won't, I promise. Bye mom!" Judy waved, so did Bonnie.

The call disconnected. Judy slumped on the desk and sighed. She waited for her rude neighbours to comment, but everything was eerily still and silent.

That is until her phone vibrated. It scared the living carrots out of her. She found herself clutching her chest, heart rate going through the roof.

Judy looked down at her phone and saw that she had a text. Was it from Nick? Oh how she hoped it was from Nick.

 _'hey hon, so sorry to bother you again. you mentioned nick? who is he?_

That wasn't Nick. Nope. Judy slumped and typed out a response back to her mom. "Nick... is my... partner."

Another vibration. More texts?

 _'judy you never told me! why keep it a secret until now? oh my little girl really has grown up'_

"Huh? What... Oh, oh no!" with a quickened breath, Judy moved her fingers as fast as possible for another reply. "No no, he is my cop partner! I work with him!"

 _'oh, ok! sorry baby. goodnight now, dont forget to pay rent!"_

Okay, that was one disaster avoided. Judy set her alarm for early morning and quickly hopped into bed, snuggling deep into her sheets, blanket and pillow.

She hoped tomorrow would be a more exciting day.

Nick was right after all - a bit of action wouldn't hurt.

Back at it again with the cruiser.

It wasn't a cruiser, Judy had found out, but an interceptor. That's why they were able to catch up to Flash in his sports car. It _intercepts,_ it does not _cruise._ It has a sports car engine.

Judy had gotten herself a small cup of coffee to wake her up. Now the brown cup sitting in the cup holder will serve her as a reminder of a broken oath of never taking coffee.

"What's got you feeling down, Carrots?" Nick poked in, noticing her mood. "Ever since the bank you've gotten this sulky look stuck to your face."

"Oh, I do?" Judy laughed nervously. "Just focusing on the job, you know? Gotta be on the lookout for potential perps! Always!" she motioned with her hands in an ecstatic manner.

Nick snickered. "If you say so."

Stopping at quite the traffic jam at an intersection, Judy decided to take another sip of her coffee. Just as the lid reached her mouth, a seemingly normal car whizzed by.

No, it didn't whizz by, it _roared_ by. Nick immediately blared the siren, but Judy was busy wiping hot coffee away from her uniform and the steering wheel.

"What are you doing? They're going to get away! Drive!" Nick almost yelled as he violently shook her shoulder.

"Right, right!" Judy carefully veered out of the traffic lane and began pursuit of the speeding vehicle. It was _fast,_ and the driver knew what he or she was doing.

Pedestrians fled as the vehicle swerved, slowed and sped up again between turns. There was no chance of catching the license plates at these speeds. The way the suspension gave, how they applied the handbrake to drift... this was no regular citizen. The vehicle was modified.

"Dispatch, this is Officer Nick Wilde - me and Officer Judy Hopps are in hot pursuit of a speeding vehicle, er," Nick heisted, squinting his eyes. "...northbound of the Five Dollar Central Bank. I repeat, we have a ten fifty five North of the Five Dollar Central Bank. Vehicle is a grey sedan. How copy?"

 _"I hear you, Nicky! We've got a chopper nearby who can help. Also roadblocks. Keep trailing him! Over!"_

Typical Clawhauser.

Judy wasn't a master of high speed pursuit in urban areas. She had way too many close calls with innocent vehicles and lamp posts. Still, the police car had a racer engine, so they were able to sort of catch up with the sedan. It looked like a medium sized car, painted grey. But a medium sized car should not be that loud and fast.

 _"This is the ZPD, stop your vehicle now!"_

Nick's voice sounded through the loudspeaker atop the police car roof. It sounded different, like it wasn't even Nick at all. Nick would never growl like that.

The car did not stop.

 _"You are finished, do you hear me?! Finished! Stop your car and get out with your hands up!"_

The car did _not_ stop. Quite frankly, it sped up. The sound of rotor blades could be heard, but the police chopper was nowhere to be seen.

 _"Stop the car before you hurt - or worse, kill someone! Do it for your own good!"_

Judy gasped, Nick's eyes popped open - an old wolf lady was crossing the street on a red light, but the suspect kept speeding. They were going to kill her!

But to their surprise, the vehicle squealed to a halt, and so did they. Nick and Judy jumped out of their car and ran towards the suspect, but they started burning rubber in place, tossing smoke at them.

"S-Stop!" Judy coughed and gasped for air, but she couldn't even hear herself over the loud engine and tire torture. Nick grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the barrage of toxic smoke. Once the light turned red and the old lady crossed, the suspect let go of the brake.

Both of the officers' jaws dropped when the front of the vehicle lifted itself off the ground due to sheer rear wheel drive power. It dropped down on the road again, bouncing on its wheels before shooting off like a bullet.

Judy wasn't sure they could catch them. She was being _toyed_ with.

Nonetheless, the officers boarded their interceptor and tried. They followed the thick tire tracks and plumes of smoke, which led them onto the freeway. They could see the suspect's car up in the distance.

The chopper came into view above, as well as a road blockade a few thousand yards in front. There were three SUVs parked, as well as an armoured truck. At least ten officers were behind the SUVs, all tough looking rhinos. Civilian vehicles seemed to disappear from the scene in an instant.

"Judy, stop. Stop, Judy!" Nick grabbed her shoulder. Judy eased down onto the break. The suspect stopped as well, a good distance away from the roadblock and Judy's interceptor. It was like a Wild West standoff.

 _"Open the door, and come out of the vehicle slowly with your hands behind your head and then get down on the ground. No sudden moves or you'll be in a world of hurt!"_

Judy's eyes popped. Wow, Nick was _wild._ She gave him a curious glance before they disembarked and quickly approached the suspect's car. The chopper overhead shone a light on the scene, even though it was broad daylight.

The door of the suspect's car slowly pivoted open and the crazy driver stepped into view.

Judy's eyes were seeing, but her mind wasn't perceiving.

It was that big rabbit from the bank. _The same one._ Judy shook her head and jogged over to him. Nick followed along.

"On the ground, now!" Nick figuratively growled. The giant prey didn't even face them as he laid on the asphalt stomach down and put his hands behind his head. Nick quickly apprehended him with steely cuffs.

Judy managed to collect herself and pat him down for any illegal substances or objects. She found nothing in the pockets of his khaki shorts.

"Where's your driving license? The glove box?" Judy sternly questioned.

No response. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Fine, be that way. You're under arrest, sir. You have the right to remain silent and not answer any questions. Anything you say may be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future."

Three rhino police officers came over quite calmly despite the situation. "We'll take it from here," he squinted at Nick's name tag sewn to his uniform. "You do know what to do from here, don't you?"

Nick put his hands on his hips and nodded. "Absolutely."

He had absolutely no idea.

The rhino snorted. "Let's hope so."

Two of the rhinos hauled the suspect up and began to escort him towards the armoured truck. Nick nodded at the remaining officer and turned to Judy.

"That was a job well done, Carrots," he smirked smugly and pointed at her. "Although you need to work on your driving a little bit more. You almost killed us." Nick boarded the suspect's car, not even bothering to check to glove box for any ID.

"W-Wait... shouldn't _we_ take in the criminal? I mean, it's our arrest, not theirs!" Judy protested. She wasn't sure this was supposed to happen.

Nick disregarded her comment and did a careful U-turn to cross over to the other lane. "See you back at the bank, Carrots!" Nick exclaimed loudly, waving his hand at her from the open window. With traffic slowly resuming, Judy lost him in the sea of cars.

She noticed that the roadblock had already pulled out and was out of sight, along with the police chopper. What a coincidence that the rabbit she saw at the bank would also be a criminal the day after.

Judy did, however, just carry out her second arrest. She thought she'd be jumping for joy and glee, but no - here she was, in the middle of the freeway, blocking traffic. _She_ was supposed to put the bunny in her car and take him over to the ZPD for processing...

An angry yell from a citizen reminded Judy that she was blocking the lane.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm going now!"

Judy quickly hopped into her car, stopped the blaring siren and speedily drove off.

She hoped Nick remembered where the police impound was.

Nick, on the other hand, felt _badass._ Hopping into a criminal's car, elbow hanging out, wind in his face? He was the law, and he could do _anything._

Yeah, he was badass.

"Almost forgot!" Nick announced to no himself. He took his shades that were hanging from his breast pocket with an index and a thumb, deployed them with a flick of his wrist and donned them on. He shot himself a pearly white toothy grin in one of the rear view mirrors for effect.

 _Now_ he was a double badass.

Also handsome.

Back at the bank, Judy had been waiting for two hours sharp. Her little heart was wrenched with worry for the fox. The impound was only a twenty minute drive from the freeway.

By chance, Judy glanced at the rear view mirror and saw herself. She leaned in - more like strained her neck up and saw... running eyeliner? She ran her fingers over her cheek and sure enough, she had smudged black everywhere.

With a strained laugh, she wiped it off with the top of her wrist, blessed that she never put on too much. A sigh later, she decided to call Nick on his mobile. She browsed through her recent calls and found the familiar name. Putting the phone up to her ear, she waited.

 _"Hi-"_

"Nick! Where are-"

 _"By the looks of it I'm pretty busy right now, so why don't you leave a message? I'll get around to calling you back. Eventually."_

Call disconnected.

Judy moved the phone away from her ear and stared down at the 'call disconnected' screen before it returned to her wallpaper. She had to ask herself why she was worrying so much about him. Nick _was_ an adult, after all - and a police officer with the entire ZPD at his back.

The bank was all quiet, except for some dude who parked his car in the middle of the road without his hazards. Judy had to issue him a fine and bear a nasty attitude. The day ended way too quickly for her taste. Nick still hadn't reported in.

If he was here, she'd suggest they go on a little break and have some donuts with coffee. But he wasn't here. Judy was all alone in the car, sniffling.

She couldn't take it anymore. She _had_ to find out where he was. She jerked the ignition hard and pushed the accelerator down hard. The vehicle lurched and the tires screamed, surprising her. Maybe she should calm down a little bit.

On her way to the ZPD, Judy noticed that most of the daytime officers were already leaving on foot or by their own personal cars. If Judy hurried up, she might be able to catch up to Clawhauser.

The police car skidded to a halt in front of the ZPD. Thinking of how many infractions she had just committed, the small bunny began to haul butt up to the reception desk - and just in time, too; Clawhauser was packing up when he saw a frantic Judy Hopps running towards him.

"Judy? What's gotten you in such a hurry? Isn't your shift over?" the cheetah greeted her with mixed emotions. He pushed aside an empty donut box that was blocking the bunny's view.

"It's Nick, he was supposed to take a car to the impound, but that was this morning! He hasn't called me - has he reported in?" Judy was practically hopping in place. Clawhauser would've found the rapidly falling and rising chest of the bunny adorable if it weren't for the situation at hand.

"Goodness, no! He hasn't called me either! Oh, let me beep him now, see where he is!" the chubby cheetah quickly went for the microphone on his desk, adjusting knobs. He pressed down the big red transmit button and spoke into the microphone. "Officer Nick Wilde, this is dispatch. What is your current location?"

He laid off the relay button, waiting for a response.

Silence.

"Officer Nicholas Wilde, this is dispatch. Come in, over."

No hint of Nick. It's as if his radio was turned off.

Clawhauser pondered with a hum, tapping his chin. "Maybe-" he heard the doors of the ZPD slam shut. Judy was gone.

Clawhauser was going to go to the Chief about this. A missing officer? The implications! He stopped packing his belongings and hurried off.

Judy wasn't really sure what to do. She sat in the interceptor, clutching her head. With no idea of where Nick lived, her only lead was the impound.

"The impound! Of course! Am I going brain dead?"

Ignition, siren, and Judy was off. She's never heard the engine roar this much before, not even during the chase this morning. Civilian vehicles parted and gave way, but she was clearly going over the speed limit. She had probable cause for this, so no worries.

Applying the hand brake, she took a sharp corner, practically drifting, before accelerating as fast as possible and evening out. People, cars and buildings alike whizzed by in a blurry mess of lights and shapes.

At last, the rusty fence wall of the car pound finally came into view as the car slowed. Judy needed to go into the office and ask - _fast._ She parked at a random place and turned on the hazards before approaching the impound. Well, running to it, more like.

Two wolf officers with coffee were standing beside a blue featureless door that probably lead into the pound office proper. On her way there, the grey sedan was spotted, parked perfectly with its rear facing the red brick wall.

"Whoa, hey, slow down there. You want to enter the office, you gotta show some ID first, alright?" one of the wolf officers stopped Judy before she ran into them.

"Oh, right," the bunny smiled sheepishly before producing out her police ID and holding it up for them. The officer read it over and shrugged. "Good enough?" she tilted her head.

"I guess so. I mean, I thought you were just some random bum wearing a police costume. Go on in," he stepped aside. Judy gave him a stern stare but made her way in.

The interior was stuffy. Judy had to loosen her collar if she didn't want to suffocate. The pound office was a relatively small room, with a window, a desk, a camera in one corner and a fat TV screen in the other corner. Behind the desk sat a tired white wolf dressed in a hazard vest.

Three wolves?

Judy had no time to mess about. She ran up to the desk and waved. "Excuse me! Excuse me, sir! I'm Officer Hopps. My partner, Nick Wilde, confiscated a vehicle this morning?"

"Huh? Who's there?"

Oh, not this again. Judy sighed and hopped, waving even more. "Down here!"

The wolf propped himself on the desk and looked down at the hopping bunny. "Oh, hi. What can I help you with?"

"My partner, Nick Wilde, delivered a vehicle here. The suspect was speeding and instigated a pursuit. But..." she rubbed her arm. "That was this morning, at around nine. Nick is a fox, first of his species to be recruited by the ZPD. You couldn't have missed him."

"What, he hasn't called in or something? That's pretty irresponsible of a police officer. Unless..." the wolf looked up, as if losing himself in thought. Judy leaned in. This was going to be juicy.

"Unless...?" she prodded.

"Unless he was _kidnapped._ "

Okay, that was going a bit too far. Judy didn't want to even contemplate the possibility.

"No, no, he couldn't have been. That's... that's _stupid_!"

Cursing like that, Judy felt a little weight fly off her chest. It was refreshing. The wolf sat back down, a bit surprised at her outburst. "Alright. Maybe not. Let me check my ledger."

"Please do," the bunny crossed her arms impatiently. "Quickly."

The wolf browsed through a thick logbook, tracing names and license plates with a nail. "Nick... Nicky Nick. Is the car medium sized sedan with a V8 engine?" he looked at Judy, who shrugged. "Yep, he made the drop alright. But that was at two in the afternoon. Guess he took it for a joyride?"

"Okay, fine, he made a late delivery. But where did he go? Nick, I mean," Judy was growing impatient by the second. She was about to climb the freaking walls. Her bunny foot was tapping at a thousand TPM.

"Where he went? I don't know that, Officer Hopps. Should I check the cameras?" he pointed at the TV. Judy looked at him in disbelief. Is he screwing with her?

"Yes, please! Do that! I just want to know where my partner wandered off!" this wolf was _infuriating!_ He was so slow! Like a sloth! A sloth was faster than him, even! The wolf thought her foot tapping would shatter the tiles.

"Alright, calm down," the wolf, who was not an actual police officer, Judy figured out, grabbed the remote and began rewinding the video that was playing on the TV. Judy stared on intently, looking for Nick thoroughly. At last, when the timestamp indicated two fifteen, the recording slowed to normal speeds.

The sedan came into view with Nick at the wheel. The gates of the impound opened for him and he parked. Exiting the vehicle, he went into the office and returned pretty quickly. Judy strained to burn the memory of where he went into her mind.

Nick wandered onto the sidewalks and stood around for a while, hands in pockets. Surprisingly, he turned towards the camera and took off his shades. Judy grinned involuntarily. Just seeing him brought her so much peace.

He put the shades back on and walked off, entering a fish shop around a bend.

That's all she needed. The camera could not follow him farther than that.

She burst out of the office, startling the officers outside. Traffic or no traffic, she ran towards that fish shop. It was open.

She skid to a halt in front of the shop door, adjusting her stab vest and taking a deep breath before entering.

Except she bumped her little nose pretty hard on the metalwork, causing her to let out a high pitched yelp of pain. She rubbed her nose to soothe it, but tears came involuntarily.

Of course the shop was closed. Of course. Why would it be open this late? She rattled the door's handle just in case it was stuck or something.

Nope, still closed.

Without wasting a single second more, she ran around the back and found the rear entrance of the shop. The door, however, had no handle. Great. Just what she needed.

It didn't stop Judy from banging on the door, however. Tapping, knocking, kicking, yelling, she tried everything! But as expected, no one came.

Her blood boiled. Judy ground her teeth and stomped the ground in pure frustration, but the nauseating pain that came after served as reminder that she just picked a fight with concrete. Clutching her foot, hopping away, her back hit the wall and she immediately slid down to the ground.

Judy felt oncoming tears, but these weren't from the pain in her nose. The bunny brought her legs into herself and clutched her head out of desperation.

"Maybe..." Judy muttered to herself as she slid out her phone out of her pocket and browsed her most recent calls. Nick was at the top of the list, where she called him at eleven in the morning sharp. With a sigh and a runny nose, she called yet again.

Ringing.

"Pick up, pick _up!_ "

Nick picked up.

Judy felt like exploding.

 _"Carrots?_ _Hello?"_

 **"Nick!"**

She might have screamed.

 _"Holy cannoli, what's gotten into you?"_

"What's gotten into _me?_ You were the one who disappeared without telling anyone! Why did you just up and leave like that?"

Maybe throwing accusations at him after _crying_ about losing him wasn't a good idea, but Judy couldn't help herself! This was partly Nick's fault.

 _"You're acting like you're my mother_ _or something_ _. You sound distraught. Let me see you."_

She was going to see him! Judy pulled the phone away from her ear and mashed the little camera icon on the screen. The screen blackened before Nick's face loaded in as well as her own on the bottom right corner in a smaller box.

Nick looked... tired. There was a blue ambient light somewhere off to his left, illuminating the side of his face and the dark wallpaper behind him. Neon? She also heard a pretty laid back electric beat playing off to his left.

But way he had his head tilted, along with the droopy eyelids, no shirt on, droopy ears, frown, ambient light, music... he almost looked sexy.

Oh no, Judy couldn't think about her friend like that! He's her _friend!_ She shook those thoughts away from her head and smiled down at Nick.

 _"_ _Quit the act, Carrots. Are you okay?_ _"_

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. I was just..." Judy stopped. Nick perked an eyebrow. "Worried about you."

Nick sighed and plopped down on his pillow, holding his phone above. Some of Judy's previous thoughts returned. _"And why would you be worrying about me? I was actually thinking that you secretly hate me for stealing some of your glory._ _You'd be glad to see me dead._ _"_

Nick was smirking. That was sarcasm. Judy sighed. She was absolutely happy that he was okay and still himself.

"Yeah, I guess I had an out of proportion reaction today. I mean, when you dropped off the car at the impound, I thought you'd return... but you didn't. I called you on your mobile, nothing. Then I went to Clawhauser and asked him if he's seen you. He hadn't," as Judy was explaining what conspired today, she made her way back to the police interceptor, looking left and right for cars while at it. Her bottom had gotten cold from sitting on the concrete.

 _"Mhh, my battery died this morning. It drains really quickly. But Clawhauser..."_

Judy climbed inside the police car, shut the door and flicked on the cabin light by a switch on the roof. Nick's droopy eyes popped wide. Now that there was adequate light, he could see the more important details of her face. _"What have you been weeping about, Carrots? Something happen?"_

Nick knew _exactly_ why. Judy simply laughed. This time it was a genuine laugh. "Like I said - disproportionate reaction. If you hadn't picked up now I probably would've done something really stupid, like go to the Chief about this."

Nick sat up from his bed and slicked the fuzz atop his head back with a palm. _"Chief Bogo? Judy, I was allowed to go home early on_ behalf _of the Chief. As soon as I delivered the vehicle, I got a call from dispatch - it wasn't Clawhauser, but someone else, maybe the guy from before. They said they'd inform you, too,"_ Nick pondered in thought. Judy's tongue was stuck in her throat. _"Now your reaction seems that little bit more reasonable."_

"Hold on," Judy swallowed. "Clawhauser knew nothing about you being released early. He's supposed to know _everything!_ Nick, I think... I think someone's messing with us."

Judging from the fox's now growing terrified expression, he thought so too. _"I think... that joke we made about someone breaking into our comms?"_ Judy gasped, covering her mouth. _"Yeah. I think it just turned real."_

"Nick, we need to tell Chief Bogo about this! And fast! Like, right now fast!"

 _"Hold on, wait! We can't!"_ Nick was seen shooting up from his bed and running to somewhere. He fiddled with something out of view before returning to the bed. Did he just lock his door? That sent a shiver up Judy's spine.

"What? Why not?" Wait, Judy stopped herself... if whoever was messing with them had access to police radio communications, which had special encryption, what else could they have access to?

 _"You thinking what I'm thinking, Carrots?"_ Nick asked quite exasperatedly.

"Yeah..." Judy looked up at her rear view mirrors. "Smartphones... dangerous."

 _"Dangerous,"_ Nick repeated and nodded. _"Microwave. In seven hours. Bye, Carrots!"_

Call disconnected.

Judy sighed and slumped against her seat. She still wanted to talk to Nick, and badly! She felt like tossing the phone out of the window and driving off somewhere, but that would be irresponsible and childish.

Judy figured out Nick's riddle about the microwave in seven hours instantly. They would see each other at the ZPD staff room/cafeteria and discuss what happened. But in seven hours? What time was it now?

Eleven twelve.

Judy's forehead and the steering wheel made good friends tonight.

Shutting off the cabin light as well as the hazards, Judy started up the engine and drove away from the impound. She _really_ went out of her way to find Nick, but all it took was a phone call. Sighing, she thanked herself for not calling a SWAT team to his house.

Now to return the interceptor to the ZPD...

The walk home from the ZPD was _terrible!_ Judy was freezing her ears off. The police uniform offered no protection against the bitter nip of the air, and who knew there were basically no night buses?

Upon returning to her shanty little apartment, she made sure the door was locked and that the blinds on the window were up before fully undressing and dumping her uniform on the chair, underwear following. Being alone allowed for that.

She snatched a bath robe from her drawer and retreated into the bathroom for a much deserved shower.

Tomorrow was certainly going to be interesting.

Judy was going to be late for the meeting with Nick.

She had time to brush her teeth, grab a quick bite of whatever was in the fridge and apply some mascara and eyeliner before she had to run out of the building. A brisk jog to the train station was the best form of travel.

Within minutes the bunny had reached the ZDP. She glanced at her parked interceptor before ascending the stairs up into the lobby. Clawhauser was already waving to her. She reluctantly approached him.

"Looks like you found Nick!" the cheetah exclaimed. Judy nodded. "What's the matter, Judy? You don't seem that upbeat about it. Isn't Nicky your partner and friend?"

"Oh, no, I love that fox to death, it's just that... er, how do you say it?" she scratched her neck in thought. Clawhauser blinked, smiling. "It was a weird night yesterday, if I were to put it simply. Nick and I are supposed to meet pretty soon and talk about it."

"Hmm... oh! You mean - oh! I'm so sorry! I won't keep you then, go meet Nicky! I'm glad everything turned out okay!" Clawhauser waved at her yet again as she made her way deeper in.

Judy waved back, feeling uneasy. "Thanks, Clawhauser! You're the best!"

"Oh, stop it you!" the chubby cheetah giggled. The compliment made him feel all giddy!

Judy was now in the cafeteria, which was bustling with activity. With the numerous rhinos, elephants, tigers and anything else bigger than a bunny walking about, catching a glimpse of Nick was near impossible.

That's why they had phones.

Judy slipped her phone out of her pocket and tapped out a quick message to Nick, reciting as she did so. "Where... are... you? I'm at... the cafeteria."

The phone vibrated in her hands. Nick had sent back a message.

 _'far wall, corner table to your right'_

Okay, good enough. Judy put her phone away and squeezed through the crowd of police officers until she reached the end of the cafeteria. Whipping her head around, she saw Nick sitting at the aforementioned corner table.

Breathing in and out to calm herself, Judy casually approached and sat down opposite the fox. He was eating something green out of a white ceramic bowl with a fork, seeming quite immersed in his food. Wait, were those tomatoes?

He was eating salad?

"Going green, Nicky?" Judy grinned.

"Mm," Nick swallowed his mouthful and nodded, though he disliked that nickname. "Trying to keep the sweets and meat to a minimum. Don't want to end up like the rhinos, if you know what I'm saying."

Judy chuckled at his remark. Nick offered her some of the salad, but she waved her hand. "Thanks, but I'm on a specific diet. Salads have to be made in a very special way."

No they didn't. Judy simply didn't want to take Nick's breakfast away.

Nick perked an eyebrow, smirking. "Picky."

Judy looked around for a clock and found one attached to the wall above the ladies who were serving the food. Seven in the morning. They had time.

"Soooo," Judy began. Nick wiped his mouth with a tissue and pushed the bowl aside. He crossed his hands on the table and looked Judy straight in the eyes. Or one eye. She wasn't sure what eye he was looking into. "That thing that happened yesterday."

"Yeah. The thing," Nick repeated, eyelids low. There wasn't a hint of happiness on his face. "Someone messed with me, Judy. Someone somehow found and decrypted the frequency of my radio," Nick seemed a bit peed off, but he kept his voice low.

"Any leads on who could have done that? And why?" Judy leaned in... did she brush her teeth? Did her breath stink? Maybe she should lean back a bit, or- _agh_ , not important!

"Could be two possibilities. One," he pointed a finger up. "To be frank, I have many enemies. I admit to that. But most of them are lowlifes and lack the technical prowess to pull something like this off. Two; could be someone we don't know - someone _no one_ knows. Diverting an officer from his duties might seem like a waste of effort, but it could all fit into a grand master plan."

"A grand master plan? Like what? Huge robbery?" Judy felt her nose twitch. _Robbery._

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. I can't know, how could I? Organised crime is rare, but organised , planned white collar crime?"

Judy tapped her chin and scrunched her face. "We should go to the Chief."

Nick didn't like the suggestion. He sighed and tapped the table. "What if he's on it?"

"What?" Judy almost gasped. "Chief Bogo? No, no way. Impossible! Has to be!" Judy had forgotten her tone. A few officers glanced her way. She sighed.

"Right now we're completely in the dark. Everyone here could be involved. Right now we can only trust each other and no one else. Do you understand? Do you trust me?" Nick's lids were wide open now. That look from below was sort of intimidating, too.

"Of course I do, yes! Always," she grinned. Nick only offered a smirk.

He leaned away from Judy and turned around to look at the clock. It was almost time for their shift to begin. "Well, partner," he faced Judy once more. "Ready to save the day? Or, perhaps, the world?"

Judy couldn't help but grin.

"Always ready."


	2. Surprise

Saturday, fourteenth of May.

It was Nick's birthday. _If_ he didn't lie on his application to the force.

Judy wanted to surprise him with a few gifts, but a huge problem stuck out like a sore thumb – she knew almost nothing about him other than that he was a sly, dumb fox, four feet tall, eighty pounds in weight, and liked potato chips and blueberries.

It was very obvious she didn't spend enough time with him. Even though they were partners for almost an entire year, he still seemed so unreachable and distant when it came to things like this. Judy had gotten the hunch that Nick didn't like to dwell in normal social stuff a long while ago.

Judy, being the attentive little bunny that she was, gathered two gifts for Nick; a phone battery and a black tie. The tie was wrapped in clear plastic while the battery laid in a transparent little case. Both were put into a little peach coloured birthday gift bag with 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' stamped on the front in colourful comic sans. Nick had lost his police issued tie, and his own one was starting to show wear and tear. He had also mentioned that battery on his phone was draining way too quickly, so a replacement was in order. Good thing Judy knew the model of his phone. She also signed and put in a pretty bland looking birthday card. It wasn't a looker, but it was the thought that counted.

And for the most important part; the cake. Nick loved blueberries, so Judy went to the only 'trustworthy' baker she knew; Gideon Grey. She had ordered the cake two days prior for Nick's birthday via Gideon's website, so the delivery should arrive within the next hour or so since it was scheduled for today. If her parents came to him for business, why shouldn't she?

Before she actually committed to this and spent her meagre cop salary for an assortment of drinks and food, she wrote a text to Nick, asking if he wanted to hang out at his place for a while and then go grab lunch.

She sent the text. Nick replied a few seconds later. The text read _'didnt u have a saturday job? You know what, dont answer that. You can come over. Im at cypress grove lane 1995. dont hurry…. Aprtment is a warsoze.'_

"Warsoze?" Judy was a bit puzzled at the text, but soon figured out that Nick meant 'war zone.' His horrible spelling made her chuckle.

Cypress Grove Lane… Judy knew about Cypress, although not that much. From what she's seen and heard, it wasn't the nicest of places in Zootopia.

Nick had no idea he was going to be surprised, so Judy thought she'd dress as casually as possible so that she didn't overwhelm him. Some blue denim jeans and a dark red flannel shirt, along with a dark brown summer jacket were in order. It wasn't anything fancy or stylish; it was casual. Judy did, however, apply a handsome amount of mascara and eyeliner to accentuate her eyes. Nick had once mentioned that her eyes were beautiful, but Judy wasn't sure if he was being serious or just screwing around.

* * *

Nick's apartment was indeed a war zone; there was a huge pile of neglected dishes and eating utensils in the kitchen sink, as well as around his study desk. Whatever free space was left on the desk was occupied by crumbs and just random trash, such as packets of chips and candy wrappers.

His bed was undone, the plastic blinds on his window were bent, dirty clothing littered the floor, and he himself was quite unruly. His white vest was stained with god knows what, and he had no pants on!

First impressions of his apartment are the ones that lasted the longest, so he got to work with a deep sigh. Nick always hated cleaning. Why oh why did Judy to come over today? He could've refused and said no to her so he could enjoy a very laid back weekend, but he didn't.

In the space of a good half hour Nick had managed to convert his apartment from a junk yard into a reasonably presentable living space. However, he still had himself to sort out. The stench from his armpits wasn't something Judy would like. Before going to shower, he cracked open a window to air out whatever smell was still lingering around.

Just as he had finished towelling himself off after a brisk, steamy shower, there were rapid knocks on his door.

Judy.

Muttering something about a bunny's speed, he wrapped the wet towel around his waist, hopped to the entrance and opened the door. Judy was out there, smiling, carrying numerous bags in her little arms.

"Hi, Nick!" the smile remained until she noticed Nick's choice of attire. The bunny froze in place, eyeing the towel.

"Oh, are you here for some sugar?" Nick jokingly assumed a very risqué pose against the door frame and slid a hand across his smooth chest. Judy felt her entire face heat up as her eyes trailed down his slender form. Nick noticed that this wasn't her usual reaction to his semi-nudity. She'd usually give him an earful about indecency, but now she was frozen stiff, staring with wide eyes. Nick returned to his normal posture and let off a short laugh. "I'm just kidding, Carrots. Do come in and make yourself at home."

Judy entered reluctantly, keeping her eyes low and away from Nick. As she entered and looked around, she noticed that the apartment was _extremely_ run down; old carpet that had the fluffiness similar to that of rebar concrete, worn and stained flower wallpapers that have turned brown from age, furniture that might have been third use by now… there were countless factors that sent shivers up Judy's spine, but it looked like Nick had made an effort of making it as presentable as possible. The most clean thing in the apartment was his single sized bed, a night stand next to the bed, a study desk a few feet away and a small TV propped up by a wine box in front of the bed.

There were posters hung around the walls, all of different sizes and themes. Some of them looked absolutely ancient. Rock bands, pop bands, hip hop bands… all of them were unfamiliar to Judy. Her music taste only dwelled in the mainstream pop genre.

A considerably large window that stood over his bed presented Judy with a breathtaking view of some rusty scaffolding and fire escape stairs.

The layout of his apartment was very strange, indeed. There were no walls separating the kitchen from the living/bedroom, apart from the bathroom. That was obviously walled off for privacy. What happened when Nick tried to cook something on the stove? Did all the smell and fumes just swim around the entire apartment?

In fear of mucking something up on his birthday, Judy kept her mouth shut about the random pipes and general outlook of his apartment.

"So what's the occasion, cotton tail? I see that case of beer poking out of that bag," Nick pointed out rather smugly. He locked the door of his apartment and wondered over to his kitchen table. "Here, you can put all that stuff here."

Judy did so. Nick helped her heave some of the heavier stuff, like the concealed cake and case of beer.

"It's uh, well," Judy turned to him and smiled. Here came the big announcement. "It's your birthday, Nick."

The fox paused, eyes locked onto Judy's. He had to take a few seconds and process what she had just said. Slowly, the happy smile on her face faded.

"My what?" Nick squinted, leaning in. He must've misheard her.

Judy took a nervous step back. "On your form, when you registered with the ZPD, it said your date of birth was May fourteenth," she shrugged and put her hands together, rocking on the heels and toes of her feet. "Today is the fourteenth of May."

Nick blinked.

Right. His _birthday._

That thing that you do each year.

The last time he had celebrated anything was thirteen years ago.

It was his eleventh birthday. Right after his initiation into the Junior Ranger Scouts was _**declined,**_ his sweet mother somehow managed to find enough money to buy him a meagre little cake and a candle. Nick wanted to share the cake with her, but she refused politely, pecked him on the head and said, _"It's all for you."_

That was the last time Nick celebrated his birthday.

"Nick? Are you okay?" Judy brought him out of his mini-flashback. He found himself staring at the ground, a lump in his throat as one of his hands clutched the edge of the table for support. He felt tears, but by now he was an expert at holding back emotion.

Judy reached for him, but he shot up and grinned down at her. The bunny's hand snapped away, spooked.

Nick dropped the wild grin and calmed himself down. Repressed memories of his mother were the worst. This was the second time Judy had fished them out.

He casually opened his arms and invited Judy in.

He wanted a hug? While dressed in a towel? Well, it'd be rude to decline him. Judy took off her thin summer jacket and folded it over the kitchen chair before approaching the fox and hugging him.

Sort of. Judy's arms stood glued by her side as she laid her head against his bare chest. Nick put his hand on the top of her head and patted her like the little bunny she was.

"Thank you, Judy. This means a lot to me," Nick spoke low with a deep rumble to his voice. It meant more than she could imagine, but he kept that to himself. They soon tore away from each other.

"No problem, Nick! Aren't you going to invite anyone else over? Like your fennec fox friend?" Judy asked. In all honesty, she didn't want anyone else to come and potentially ruin Nick's birthday. This was going to be their little special day.

"Finnick? Are you kidding me?" Nick shook his head. Finnick was out of the picture for now. "Plus, I'm getting the feeling you want me all for yourself today."

Oh, that smile. She _did_ want him all to herself, in a very selfish way. She wanted to bond.

Nick took her silence and growing aura of discomfort as a yes, but before they could continue, he needed to do something. "Hold on, I'm gonna put some clothes on."

Judy nodded and Nick retreated further into his apartment. While he was getting dressed, Judy almost slapped herself for acting so out of character. "What's with me?" she whispered, sighing and rubbing her forehead. Was her awkwardness coming to bite her in the ass again? Or was it the social pretence standard that just because they're of the opposite gender they should be romantically involved?

Maybe she should just focus on making Nick's birthday a good one instead of biting nails over such an irrelevant topic. Acting like a shy schoolgirl wasn't going to be a benefit to anyone.

Judy eyed a green lighter with a bit of fluid left sitting on the counter near the sink, feeling a smile creep up on her face.

When Nick returned to his kitchen dressed in a fresh Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts, he was treated to a very strange spectacle. There was a chocolate cake sat in the middle of the table with twenty four white candles lit, as well as chocolate glazed blueberries dotting the top. The cake looked very well made and not cheap at all. It was the perfect mix of chocolate, vanilla cream and blueberry filling. It was quite sizeable as well. He couldn't help but salivate on the inside of his mouth.

On top of the cake was written 'Happy Birthday Nicholas' in squiggly white lines of cream.

"Happy birthday, Nick. Again," Judy smiled sheepishly. Nick carefully sat down in front of the cake and gazed into the twenty four little flames. They reminded him of Judy; so small, yet so bright and powerful. "Do you want me to sing you the happy birthday song?"

Immediately Judy regretted the offer. She saw Nick's ears twitch and perk while his eyes slowly converged on her. A slow grin spread across his face. _He wanted to see her suffer._ "Why, of course!" Nick rested his elbows on the table and put his hands together. "What would a birthday be without the birthday song? Go ahead. Don't be shy now."

Was it getting hot in here or was it just Judy? She pulled on her collar with a finger, feeling a bead of sweat roll down her forehead. Breathing in deeply through her nose, she steeled herself and prepared to sing the song.

" _Ha_ ppy birthday to you," she started off with a voice crack. Nick had to bite his lip to keep from laughing, but his hands did a fantastic job of hiding his mouth. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Nicholas. Happy birthday to you."

Judy expelled a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Her eyes were crawling anywhere but on Nick. The fox began to clap. They were slow, methodical claps. They sounded mocking in the mostly empty apartment.

"Beautiful, simply beautiful," Nick complimented, still clapping. Judy gave a little grin and a bow. Before he burst out laughing, Nick blew out the candles in one breath right after he had thought up of a wish. It was childish and he felt stupid for doing it, but if there was a chance...

"Huh, I guess foxes are naturally predisposed to being good at blowing things," Judy shot back. That drew a chuckle out of Nick and another grin from Judy. Nothing like some friendly banter. "Did you make a wish?" she asked, taking a seat close to him.

Nick nodded slowly, looking away from Judy and into the cake. "Chances are slim of it being granted, I gotta say."

That went dark fast. Judy was itching to know what the wish was, but instead respected his privacy and quickly laid off. "Hey, I'm sure that if you believe enough, it will come true one day," she offered him a sincere, toothy smile. Nick stared at her front teeth for a bit before smiling back.

"I hear they're releasing a new game? It's these kids… on a golf course. They're trying to solve these mysteries. Sometimes they commit suicide 'cause, ah… they're teenagers. It's gonna be on the computer, but then also… there's a Soni one? If you have one of those wireless controllers, you can shoot yourself. Or like, if you buy that game you get a gun anyway and shoot, uh, like – blow your brains out. If you want someone to kill themselves you give 'em that with the peripheral and you can kill them – if you have kids you can shoot your kids and play video games," Nick was completely out of it. Judy wasn't better off. She listened to him intently with a glass of wine in her hand, trying to transcribe and decode what he was trying to say.

At this point the line between what was okay and what was not okay was becoming blurry for the both of them. "Why would you have a kid?" Nick continued, taking a quick sip of his beer. "It's bad for thirty years. When your kid turns thirty it's gonna be okay, but like… do you think a sixteen year old is good?" he looked at Judy intently. She just smiled at him. "Tomorrow, would you chose to have a sixteen year old? That's what you're doing; you're giving your future self a lot of… y'know. You're taking a dump on your future self. You might as well not wipe for sixteen years."

Judy giggled, her wine glass yawning off to the side. "Seems like a big commitment to have children," she swished the wine and took a sip. "I don't think I'm ready to give up the cop life for a few hundred little bunnies."

"Yeah..." Nick muttered and averted his eyes. He finished off his beer and set the empty bottle down near the bed, next to the empty pie tray, crumb littered plates and four other similar empty beer bottles. They had quite the feast of cake and cherry pie. "So, Judith, tell me; what's your most awkward encounter with the opposite gender?"

That was certainly a rapid change of topic. Judy watched Nick get comfortable near his pillows before trying to avoid the question. "I don't _really_ go out and look for trouble with guys," she shrugged.

"Come on, with three hundred bunnies in a house, there's bound for something awkward to happen," Nick nudged her shoulder with an index. Judy attempted to slap it away but was too sluggish.

"Alright, fine," Judy swept a hand through the top of her head, flattening her ears as she recollected on an old memory. "There was this one time when one of my brothers walked in on me while I was changing. It's not a big deal among us bunnies, but still, it was embarrassing," Judy finished, feeling her face begin to heat up from the memory. "I slapped him and told mom about what happened. Now there's a strict knock and wait rule in the house."

"Yow," Nick jokingly recoiled. "To be completely honest, anyone who doesn't knock first deserves to have their teeth knocked in so far down their throat they'd have to stick a toothbrush up their ends so they could brush their teeth," Nick commented, feeling quite passionate about the subject. " _Way_ too many close calls with my mom, you know?"

Judy was impressed with his choice of vocabulary. She didn't exactly fully understand what a 'close call with your mom' meant, but maybe that was a male thing. If he was referring to masturbation then Judy was lost since having two hundred and seventy plus bunnies in one house private time with yourself was almost non-existent. "You'd punch your own parent?" she quipped.

Nick almost choked on his own spit. "No no, not in a million years. Anyone who isn't, uh… a friend. Or important," he flashed Judy a toothy smirk and winked at her. Was he referring to her?

She was important to him? Judy almost let the wine glass slip from her hand, but caught herself in time.

Well, of course she was important. Judy was Nick's partner! And friend. Maybe even best friend? Truth be told, Nick was the only actual friend she had in Zootopia. Everyone else was just an acquaintance that she occasionally interacted with. He was her only true contact in this new, strange world. Even though she's been here for more than a year now, the city still felt new and unexplored. She thought of Nick as her anchor. Without him… she would have no idea what to do except follow a dull, daily routine of get up, go to work, sleep.

Judy put down her glass of wine on the ground next to the other trash and slowly shifted closer to Nick. He caught on pretty quickly and stopped her mid crawl with a hand to her forehead. "Just what are you trying to do here, cotton tail?"

"Hug you," she answered bluntly. Her short arms tried to reach out to him – fruitlessly.

"Didn't we hug like an hour ago?" he tilted his head. Judy seemed pretty glazed to him. Nick thought up of a plan in his head, smiling. Then, with a swift motion that had been put to use many times over his con artist career; he dodged out of the way. Judy couldn't react quickly enough, so she ended face planting on the bed.

Nick then proceeded to take her arms and bend them around her back. He made a noise with his tongue, as if restraining her with steel cuffs. "You're under arrest for attempted glomping. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."

Judy giggled, wiggling her legs. "I am but an innocent bunny, officer. I would never commit such a heinous crime," her speech was slurred from the alcohol. Nick noticed that she had drooled onto his pillow. He did _not_ like that.

Leaning in, he brushed his nose against the side of her neck as a tease. Judy shuddered under him in response. "Oh yeah? If you're so innocent, then why are you drooling on my pillow?" he asked in a low voice. Judy just giggled. She wasn't sure what he was implying.

Nick finally realized that he had sat himself on Judy's back, letting her bear most of his weight, which wasn't much. He quickly removed himself from the considerably smaller bunny and sat off to the side, feeling very stupid. Had he taken advantage of her? Nick wasn't sure. He simply shut his mouth and waited for her reaction.

Judy didn't do much. She just laid there and kept a half lidded eye on him. She looked so tired Nick thought she'd fall asleep at any second, which right now could be a good thing. "You're not that heavy," she muttered, barely coherent under her heavy slur. She was half asleep at this point.

"You can take a nap if you want to. It's okay," Nick suggested, although he wasn't sure if it got through to her. Her eyes were closed, but he could still see a bit of her sclera. "Judy?" he almost whispered, testing her consciousness.

No response. Judy had fallen asleep.

"This bunny can't hold her liquor at all," he thought out loud. He himself felt relatively sober, but he wasn't about to trust himself around Judy. So he covered her up with a corner of the blanket, took all the trash on the floor with him to the kitchen bin and disposed of it. There was a few slices of cake left on the kitchen table, but he was going to save that for later in the fridge.

He found himself leaning against the kitchen counter, feeling a bit shaken. His birthday was a bit overwhelming for him, even if Judy was the only one who attended. He would have never thought that this would rattle him this much.

He grabbed at his face and pulled, thinking of ways to relieve stress. Alcohol was not the way to go. Maybe a nice walk in the sunshine would do him so good, but he didn't want to leave Judy alone in his apartment. He used to listen to a specific genre of music to alleviate anger and any sad emotion, but he wasn't sure blasting music right now was a good idea.

By chance, his eyes settled on the gift bag sat on one of the kitchen chairs. He pulled the chair back and lifted up the bag by the carry handles. How did Judy know what to get him? She barely knew anything personal about him.

He opened the bag and peered inside. A black tie with dark purple stripes as well as a phone battery in a little case stared back up at him. These items were a necessity. Judy had picked up on what Nick needed and bought him relevant gifts. There were items that Judy put a good amount of thought into instead of buying him something just to appease him. He picked out the birthday card; it was a small, two page leaflet in a dull light brown colour. The front had 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' stamped with colourful lettering, similar to the gift bag. He opened it up and read the hand written text.

' _Happy Birthday, Nicholas Wilde. I can only wish you a prosperous police career and success wherever you may find it. Live life to its fullest, even if there are bumps along the road. Stay strong, and most of all, stay you. Signed, Judy.'_

Nick put the card down on the table and looked to Judy, truly at a loss for words. She had curled herself up into a little ball, almost hugging her legs.

That bunny – that little cheeky bunny changed almost everything – changed what his life used to mean, and changed his fate in the long run. His demise, even. He always knew that one day, one faithful day, he'll involve himself with the wrong crowd and die prematurely in some gruesome way.

She practically saved him, and he had no idea how to thank her, but it looked like being her friend was enough for now.

Nick sat down on one of his creaky kitchen chairs, thinking of what he should do now.

 _Take a walk… cook something for Judy's inevitable hangover, or get shit faced at, what –_ he looked to his window. It was unbearably bright outside, probably two in the evening. _No dignity in that._ Nick rested on the kitchen table, hiding his face from the world. He wanted to cook something for Judy, but he couldn't cook for squat. The only thing he knew how to make were these bread slices covered in egg yolk and cooked in a pan with sizzling oil. Should he go out and buy some produce? With most of his funds saved up for rent, there was very little wiggle room. Nick contemplated on getting a new, smaller apartment, maybe even rent out one room with a few other house mates.

Nick hadn't realized that he had nodded off for a while during his train of thought. He awoke to the sound of something sizzling and a very pleasant smell. His stomach churned and he had to force himself up. Rubbing his sore eyes, he found Judy at his stove, cooking something in a pan. It smelled of eggs.

Nick attempted to stand up, but banged his knee on the table instead. Judy whirled around, nose twitching, eyes wide. "You're awake!" she exclaimed loudly, worsening his already heart beat like headache. "I woke up a few minutes ago. Decided to cook up something for us to eat," Judy turned her attention back to the stove. "You didn't have much in your fridge, so I went out and bought some things. Hope you don't mind the eggs and coffee."

Nick clutched his head, trying to bear the headache. "That's really nice of you," he managed to mutter a thanks. Judy turned to him and knew there was something wrong. A paracetamol should fix his headache right up, but she wasn't sure if Nick had paracetamol just lying around.

"Do you have any painkillers, Nick?" Judy asked, transferring the fried egg onto a plate. She hopped down from the stool and wandered over to his night stand after Nick had pointed to it. She slid the drawer open and searched. She found the tablets among some loose A4 sheets, his bronze police badge, some notepads and pencils.

Quickly returning back to the kitchen area, she set the tablets in front of Nick and filled up a glass of water from the sink before handing it to him. He popped two pills and followed up with some of the water.

"Thanks, Carrots," Nick smiled at her. She nodded and continued preparing the food. It was done a few minutes later. Judy set out two plates of eggs and bread, along with a cup of black coffee. It wasn't much, but it was only meant to wake Nick up.

They sat in silence and chowed down on the eggs, bread and coffee. A small energy boost was all they needed right now to continue their planned activities. Nick was amazed that Judy didn't even seem fazed at how much alcohol she had consumed. He had to guess it was her bunny metabolism at work, and she just tinkled it out.

"So," Judy began after swallowing her mouthful. Nick's ears were at attention. "Do you want to go for a stroll in the park, near the pond? Walk off the alcohol?"

Nick pondered in thought. The pond was a bit too far away for his taste. "I was thinking of going to a little place I know; Jacklyn. You wouldn't believe what they serve there!" Nick poked his food with his fork. He saw Judy's nose twitch at the mention of food. "I mean, these eggs you made are fantastic, as fantastic as eggs can be, but I doubt you'd be willing to spend two to three hours baking a protein special just for me," Nick leaned on his elbows, "Maybe then we can go and see a movie? You wanted to yourself."

Judy nodded reluctantly. It was a solid plan.

A plan that was just postponed.

The tell-tale sound of a radio could be heard coming from underneath Nick's bed. It was pure static. The fox and bunny traded confused glances before Nick stood up from the chair, approached his bed, knelt down and reached under it. Judy panned her head around, trying to see past the fox's bushy tail.

Nick held his police radio. How had it gotten under his bed? It stopped emitting static the moment he had it in his hand. His thumb hovered over the transmit button for a bit before he decided to finally press it.

"Officer Wilde here, currently off duty," he laid off the button. He stood up and sat down on his bed as Judy came over to see what was going on. She opened her mouth but Nick signalled for her to hush up.

More static screeched.

Finally, a voice managed to break through the white noise. It was Clawhauser. He sounded quite disturbed.

" _Nick? Oh, finally! I've been trying to get a hold of you for a good ten minutes! Okay, listen up, Nicky, there's an active robbery at the Five Dollar Central bank! They have hostages! I know you're off duty, but we really need you!"_

Nick shot straight up. He was already rifling through his drawer for his badge. The uniform would have to be left behind. "Okay, I copy. Me and Hopps are on our way."

Judy was almost hopping in place. A robbery! An actual robbery on a bank! "We're just a ten minute run to there! Tell Clawhauser we'll be there in no time!"

" _Roger, guys,"_ Clawhauser managed to hear Judy well enough. _"Be careful! A SWAT team is on its way from Tundratown, wait for them first! Dispatch out!"_

"I guess we just run then?" Nick attached the radio to his belt and stashed the badge in the pocket of his trousers. "Crud, I almost forgot!" he ran over to his drawer and slid open the first panel. There was a click as he produced out a pair of steel cuffs. "Might not be enough for all of them!"

"Don't worry, we'll manage! Now let's go, Nick!" Judy egged him on. She grabbed her thin summer jacket and slipped it on before they rushed out of the apartment and down the stairs of the complex.

Nick returned a second later to grab his keys and lock the door, cursing under his breath.

Nick soon found out that bunnies were fast. Fast as in _fast._ Once they were out on the streets, crossing roads with heavy traffic and almost barging into civilians, Judy turned into a grey little blur and sped off ahead of him.

"Damn… that… bunny!" Nick huffed in between gasps of air. He was way out of shape. This running was going to be the end of him.

A white police chopper flew overhead and into the general direction of the bank. He spotted a pair of white and black camouflaged legs hanging out of the open door. Nick presumed that was the SWAT team Clawhauser was on about. All attention was on the chopper. Soon enough, civilians with nothing better to do followed it.

This was going to be messy.

Nick arrived on scene in just a few more minutes of sprinting. He crumbled to the ground, clutching at his chest, wheezing. Never again was he going to push himself this hard. A large hand that set itself on his shoulder caused him to freeze and look up. It was a uniformed Fangmeyer, one of the two wolf officers Nick knew.

"Whoa there, Wilde. What happened to you?" the voice of genuine concern bothered Nick. The wolf officer aided Nick in standing up on his two feet. "You heard about the ongoing robbery?"

"Got called in by Clawhauser," Nick stretched his legs and looked ahead at the bank proper. The entrance was almost completely cordoned off by cruisers and interceptors. There were three EMT vans at the ready a block away. Nick found it strange how most of the paramedics were piggies.

"Well, come on! Let's get to work, Wilde! Your partner's already there," Fangmayer pushed him on. Nick swiped the wolf's hand away from his shoulder with a grunt.

"I heard you the first time."

They approached the cordon of vehicles. Many other officers in uniform were standing in cover of their vehicles, looking bored. Nick looked up and saw the white chopper dormant on the roof of the bank. Looks like SWAT had already breached.

A considerable gathering of civilians had formed around the cordon. They kept their distance, but their staring eyes were judgemental and bothered Nick. "Alright, fill me in on what went down," Nick addressed Fangmeyer. Judy was nowhere in sight. Her height could be easily concealed by the cars.

The wolf pointed at the bank's tinted entrance doors, "We got a nine one one call from a bank employee, that's all I know. The Tundratown precinct sent over a SWAT team to deal with whoever is inside, since they were already geared."

"Is everyone evacuated from from there?" Nick asked, looking at the taller wolf. He shook his head. "Who's still inside?"

"The bank manager. They have him hostage in the vault. Chief Bogo wanted us to sit back and wait while SWAT swept through," he sighed, rubbing his brow. "There's a ton of grey areas; like, how did they get the vault open? How did no one see them on the cams? To be honest, all of this smells very fishy, yet no one is bothered by the facts and implications."

Nick spotted Judy's black tipped ears among the police cars. They were swiveling around, as if searching for something. "We'll get down to conspiracy theories after this entire ordeal. I gotta run," Nick nodded to the wolf and jogged over to where he last saw Judy's tall ears. He spotted her behind a rhino officer with his arms crossed. "Hey, speed demon, wait up!"

Judy turned to him with wide eyes. "Good of you to finally show up, slow poke," she smiled. "You hear about what's happening?"

Nick nodded. "Just got filled in. Looks like we have to wait."

"And wait we shall," Judy crossed her arms and looked up towards the chopper on the roof. "They're sure taking their time. I don't even know why they called us in, they seem to have everything under control."

Suddenly, radios all around them went haywire, proving Judy wrong - they did not have everything under control. There were multiple overlapping distress calls. Officers who were lazily leaning on their cars quickly rushed inside the bank after instructions have been relayed. Nick heard his own radio blare.

 _"All available officers converge on suspects. Apprehend on sight."_

It wasn't Clawhauser, but that's all the instructions Judy and Nick needed. They ran in, following along with the other officers. They entered the main lobby and glanced around, scanning for threats. Nick noticed the dormant cameras dotting a few corners of the interior. The lobby was completely deserted. All of the employee cubicles were empty. Papers littered the ground, chairs were overturned, coffee was spilled on the desks, even some of the cubicle windows were smashed into little pieces.

"Alright, we need two teams; one check the offices, the rest head towards the vault," an officer suggested. He wasn't of any particular high rank, but it was a solid idea. Two teams were formed and split away from the lobby. Judy and Nick headed up some stairs behind the main reception area and towards an office area. The red carpeted hallway lined with doors and huge windows as walls were empty, but they did hear some footsteps stomping around ahead of them.

Judy was especially effective at picking out the sounds with her ears. There was someone breathing very heavily in an office. She looked up at the door and saw 'J. J. MARK' stamped onto a bronze name plaque. The footsteps were coming from there. They were erratic and uncoordinated.

Judy drew attention to herself with a very quiet whistle. She put her palm at an angle to her ear and pointed at the door. The blinds on the large window were barring any view from the outside. Officers stacked up near the door, ready to breach. Fangmeyer and a different white wolf officer never seen before were at the front. They steeled themselves with resolve before flinging the door open and stepping inside.

"Police! Hands up!" Fangmeyer yelled.

Judy, Nick and the remaining two rhino officers had no time to enter the office before something erupted from inside like a powerful explosion. The large glass pane shattered into millions of tiny little pieces and showered the rhinos, but their thick skin saved them. The knob on the door snapped off and flew outwards, almost hitting Judy. There was a pained scream before someone crumbled to the ground and a scuffle broke out. The rhinos stomped in, charging at whatever criminal was inside.

Nick wasn't entirely sure what was going on. His head swam, rattled by the loud noises and yelling. He didn't even realize he had fallen down on the ground on his back. Judy was above him, shaking him.

"Nick, snap out of it! Nick!" Judy shook him harder. He pushed her away and sat up with a groan, clutching his head; that loud bang certainly messed him up.

After making sure Nick was unharmed, Judy sped inside the office and was treated to an unfavorable scene. Fangmeyer was on the ground, clutching at his stomach with one hand, groaning. The front of his police uniform was torn and stained with crimson. Judy couldn't see the damage past his blood stained hand. The other wolf officer was above him, undressing from his top and trying to use it as a makeshift bandage.

"Rabbit! Don't just stand there, alert EMTs!" one of the rhino officers shouted at Judy. She nodded her head vigorously and ran back to Nick, reaching for the radio on his belt. There was no time to try and bring him out of whatever state he was in. Judy summarized it to shock or PTSD and left it at that.

"Erm, we have... we have an officer down. He's in need of immediate medical attention!" Judy stuttered, her hand shaking.

 _"Roger, we have EMTs on standby,"_ someone on the other end responded. _"Do you have any further remarks?"_

"Further remarks? What... oh, yes! We have one suspect in custody, ready to be escorted out. They were also in possession of..." Judy glanced around the floor, trying to find what had hurt Fangmeyer. At last, her eyes spotted a black tubular contraption. "...of a firearm. Shotgun."

 _"Solid copy, continue with mission. Out."_

"That's it?! 'Continue with mission?' Wha -" Judy shut up and sighed. The rhino officers stood the suspect up, letting Judy have a good look at them. What stuck out the most is that they wore a mask - a fox mask that eerily represented Nick. They also had an almost pristine peach business suit on, along with a white shirt and black tie. What kind of robber dressed like that? Their gender was easy enough to figure out due to posture and body build, but their species wasn't. The black formal shoes they had obstructed view of their feet, and their hands were behind their back.

Suddenly, they turned their head towards Judy. Even though they were restrained with steel cuffs, the bunny couldn't help but feel threatened. Once they were escorted out of the office, Judy remembered that there was Fangmeyer to deal with.

He was stabilized enough for transport. Judy tried to aid in carrying him out, but the white wolf simply told her that he's got this. Fangmeyer shot her an easy going, pained smile. "You did good, Hopps," he managed to rasp out while clutching to his stomach with a trembling hand. "I can see a promotion on the horizon for you."

Fangmeyer and the other wolf left, leaving Judy alone in the office. She felt absolutely _useless._ Anyone can do a good job at relaying information! She stomped the ground and walked over to Nick outside in the hallway. He was leaning on the wall, rubbing his eyes. "What happened to you?"

Nick didn't answer. Judy looked at his eyes; they seemed distant and disoriented. "I just..." he finally said with a hoarse voice. "Loud noises don't really cooperate with me, you know?" he turned his head to her. Judy shrugged.

"You look okay to me," she crossed her arms. "Fangmeyer's been shot."

"With that?" Nick pointed behind Judy. She turned around and saw the weapon on the ground. Looks like someone forgot to confiscate it. "Is that a real gun?" Nick leaned off the wall and entered the office. "I haven't seen one in, like, ever."

"Don't touch it!" Judy warned. "You'll get your DNA all over it. Might need it for forensics later on."

"Hm, good point," Nick swept a hand through his head. "You know, I'm sorry about what happened there. I have no idea what went through my head." Nick didn't turn around, Judy had to address the back of his head.

"It's no problem. The rhinos took care of the criminal," suddenly, Judy's face dropped as Nick attained this thousand yard stare. "If you think it's your fault that Fangmayer was shot, it's not. There's nothing you could've done. No one was expecting a gun wielding criminal."

Judy heard him chuckle quietly. "I'm not going to bawl over something I had no control of, don't you worry. Still..." Nick reached down and took the shotgun by the handle.

"Nick! Put it down!" Judy almost yelled. Nick turned and laughed. "What's so funny?! You're disturbing evidence!"

"Oh come on, lighten up. When's the last time you've seen or even _held_ a real gun?" he perked a brow. Judy huffed and crossed her arms. "That's right; never. I mean, look at this thing," Nick brought up the weapon to eye level, pointing the barrel away from Judy and himself. "It can really ruin your day."

"Don't get the jitters over a gun, _Officer Wilde,"_ Judy wasn't a happy bunny. What Nick was doing right now went against work guidelines and ethics. "It's dangerous and still loaded."

Nick was about to put that to the test. He pumped the weapon; it loaded in a new shell and ejected the spent one with a puff and a trail of smoke. It clattered to the ground, drawing the attention of both Nick and Judy. "At least you're right about one thing," Nick joked. Judy was frustrated to the point where she wanted to smack a palm to her forehead - hard.

"Are you done? We need to turn that in and... hold on," Judy crouched low. Nick followed along. Her ears twitched left and right, nose sniffing at the air.

"What did you hear?" Nick whispered. Judy put a finger to her mouth and shushed him up. Nick became tight lipped as he clutched onto the weapon. The bunny's ears could pick out light footsteps out in the hallway. She could hear the clunk of gear - SWAT? Judy shook her head; one guy will never split from his team. Either that was a clueless officer or another robber.

Judy decided to peek outside into the hallway. Once she did, she immediately darted her head back in.

It was another robber. This one had a rifle.

"Hey, you, rabbit! On the ground!" the robber yelled and brought his rifle to bear. The bunny froze in place. Nick decided to make a tactical retreat behind the desk and scope out the situation. "I said on the ground!"

A boot sent Judy almost flying into the office. Nick popped up from the desk and aimed the shotgun towards the door. A black suited robber stepped through with his weapon at the ready. This one wore the same fox mask as the other one.

"Drop the weapon!" Nick yelled at the criminal, trying to give him a chance and avoid a firefight. The masked robber turned to Nick and fired his weapon from the hip. His shots went wide, but still forced Nick to take cover as dust and tiny bits of debris from the walls and desk peppered him. Judy charged while he was distracted, going for his legs. Bunnies weren't built for combat, but she could still outmaneuver the six foot tall criminal and make him stumble over his own legs.

A well timed kick to the shin sent him stumbling backwards. Nick popped up from the desk and vaulted over it, knocking papers and a computer money off. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger once Judy was out of his sights. The blast was more powerful than he expected, but he managed to bear the recoil. Buckshot spread out and peppered the criminal off to his left. A loud metal _dink_ blared into his hears as stray pellets hit the criminal in the chest.

The criminal stumbled back even more but somehow managed to retain his balance, his arm still in working condition even though his suit was ripped by the shot along with his skin. Nick quickly pumped in another shell of buckshot and fired again, but this time it missed and took a considerable chunk out of the office door. Judy had no idea what to do from here - she wasn't trained in combat. The rifle was brought to bear at her, but the bunny was fast enough to get into cover behind the desk. She saw the robber hop out into the hallway and cross the shattered window before Nick side stepped to get a better angle on him and fired.

This time he caught the robber by his legs. He keeled over as the formal trousers were ripped, exposing dark brown fur and spraying the wall behind him with red. The rifle fired wild, and some of the spray caught Nick. Judy ducked her head as the window behind her shattered and showered her with safety glass. It wasn't clear where Nick was shot, but he let out a short scream, clutched at his shoulder and toppled onto his back. The shotgun clattered next to him, barrel smoking.

Judy was frozen stiff. The moment Nick dropped, it felt like a dream to her. Everything looked unreal.

She couldn't believe what just happened.

Both Nick and the robber remained on the ground, although one of them was groaning in pain and squirming around. At this point, Judy had lost it.

She ran over to the robber and delivered a well timed kicked to the his temple. Her momentum, however small, put a lot more force behind the kick, causing his head to snap in the other direction, probably dazing him even more. She scurried off for his rifle and immediately pulled the trigger when the barrel was in his general direction.

 _Click._

Empty mag. She heaved the gun up and removed the magazine, seeing that it was indeed empty and the bolt locked back. A rasp from the office distracted her. She turned her head and saw a panting Nick pushing himself himself up, a fearful look on his face. The shoulder of his shirt was ripped, exposing a nasty, bloody wound. Judy could not describe the relief she felt once she realized that Nick wasn't dead. She literally wanted to just squeeze him in a hug and cry.

At once, Nick's eyes popped wide. He pointed to her and screamed something incomprehensible as he jumped into a sprint, but it wasn't enough to make Judy turn and look. Something moved around the corner of her vision, and she was out like a light once she felt great force slam into her face. She fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes along with the rifle, the last seconds of consciousnesses allowed her to see a sprinting, angry Nick - teeth bared, claws at the ready.

* * *

 _ **Author's note; any and all reviews will be much appreciated. I need to see if the direction this story is heading in really captivates readers and doesn't just turn them away. Thank you.**_


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